#haiku about Munchkin & me staring at a bit of #history ( and a bit of a #rant )

Preserve History

so that generations don’t

take it for granite.

The picture above is my granddaughter and me, looking at the carving on Stone Mountain in Georgia, taken by my son on Thursday, April 7th.

When history is destroyed, or re-imagined (a cute word for “fictionalized.”), the saying that no one seems to want to learn from becomes true:

“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana.

Whether it’s ISIS destroying relics from the past, or the present movement to obliterate the Confederate flag, we MUST make great efforts to retain the truth, no matter how painful, so that future generations have a chance to learn from it.

We fail to see that economics (which included the use of slaves) was at the core of the civil war. We fail to admit a belief entrenched in the minds of the north AND south that allowed both to think that people of African heritage were inferior.

Lest you protest that things are different today, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Slavery is still a part of our lives. We might not own a slave outright, but we still benefit from the oppression of almost 21 million people worldwide.

We use the same reasons to buy a $50 item for $5 as the south used to keep slaves: Economics. But slavery is easier to ignore when it’s not begging your foreman for water in your back yard.

To hammer home the point; if you want a good look at the 21st century slave owner, go to your mirror.

According to Polaris“Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery — a multi-billion dollar criminal industry that denies freedom to 20.9 million people around the world. And no matter where you live, chances are it’s happening nearby. From the girl forced into prostitution at a truck stop, to the man discovered in a restaurant kitchen, stripped of his passport and held against his will. All trafficking victims share one essential experience: the loss of freedom.”

The International Labour Organization estimates that…

68% of them are trapped in forced labor.

26% of them are children.

55% are women and girls.

If I’m reading this right, 81% are women and children of every continent, color and creed!

The slave trade we’re faced with today isn’t going to go away by eradicating the Confederate Flag or re-imagining the Confederacy. That’s not going to change the past. Do what it takes to help change the future for the 20.9 million people presently in slavery.

You can start by entering “human trafficking” in a search engine. You’ll have reading material for a week.

17 thoughts on “#haiku about Munchkin & me staring at a bit of #history ( and a bit of a #rant )”

Your point is well made (as is your Haiku); here in the UK there’s a ferocious debate about the removal of a statue of Cecil Rhodes who funded an Oxford College (and a famous programme – the Rhodes scholarship) with money made from his African excursions and exploitations back in the 19th Century. It is integral to the building and it has been there since the year dot. Taking his image away is causing a lot of vexation. Not sure about the maths though – some of the children (26%) are presumably girls (55%) so there’s double counting in the 81%

I considered the math, too, and you’re correct. There may be some double counting. Still, it appears that more women and children are in slavery than men and I wasn’t sure of a better way to make that point.

What you describe happening to the statue of Cecil Rhodes is a good example of how NOT to solve a problem. Isn’t it better to study the times as they were, and try to understand the minds of our ancestors?

Hear hear, you are so right. History happened, ding sanitised or remove it, understand it. I get why Lenin or Saddam might come down because of their immediate relevance so it’s not absolutely clear cut.

I’ve known people who throw things in anger, wanting to take it out on something. Later they wished they hadn’t. We’re such a conflicted race of beings, continually waging war inside ourselves as well as outside.